


Jack & Kate: Anthology

by FlutieCutie



Category: Lost
Genre: F/M, Heartache, Heartbreak, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Tragedy, Tragic Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2017-10-19
Packaged: 2019-01-20 03:22:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12424032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlutieCutie/pseuds/FlutieCutie
Summary: The playlist of Jack and Kate. A collection of one-shots inspired by songs that fit our favorite couple.





	1. Daylight

**Author's Note:**

> Hello. Hope the day is treating you all well =) I got the idea for this as I was listening to my iPod and there were parts of a lot of songs that were striking me as, “This is so Jate.” Then I got the inspiration to try and write some pieces based on those songs. Some of them come from one or two lines, a chorus, and some are from almost the entire song. These are all one-shots, but they’re all related. Meaning, they’re different points in time and they’re not necessarily chronological, but they all deal with the same timeline and characters. Some are happy, some sad, some on the island, some off, some very AU, some only a little, and some will be a lot longer or shorter than others. Now that I’ve gone on about this for way too long, let’s move on, huh? Let me know what you think. Without any further ado, I give you Jack & Kate: Anthology.

_Here I am staring at your perfection in my arms, so beautiful_

_The sky is getting back, the stars are burning out, somebody slow it down_

_This is way too hard cause I know when the sun comes up, I will leave_

_This is my last glance that will soon be memory_

 

**_“Daylight” - Maroon 5_ **

 

**-**

 

Perfect. Even with a gunshot wound to the shoulder, sweat and tears on her face, and days’ worth of dirt all over, she was still the epitome of perfection to him. He had always thought she was the most beautiful thing he had ever been lucky enough to see. It made him wonder sometimes how she had ever chosen him at all. He was such a mess, but she had decided somehow that he was worth her time and love. And like everything else that was ever good for him, he found a way to screw it all up.

 

Another firm shake of the island drew him from his thoughts and back to the reality in front of him. He was dying, he knew that. He had already told them all what he was going to do and that they needed to get to safety. He had told her to get on the plane and leave this place, leave _him_ , behind. Forever.

 

Telling her to leave him was the hardest thing he had ever had to do. His head was saying that it was the right thing, and he knew it was, but his heart was screaming at him to be selfish, to go with her and let this place crumble and waste away. But for once, he was doing what was best for _her_ and not what was best for _him_. He owed her that much after everything he had put her through in the past few years. 

 

“Kate, you’ve gotta go,” he said as confidently as he could manage, “Get Claire on that plane.”

 

They stared at each other for a few moments, trying to communicate every thought and emotion running through their minds. Everything they never said and wished they had, every plea to stay together. 

 

“Tell me I’m gonna see you again,” she begged. 

 

He could hear the desperation in her trembling voice. He wanted nothing more than to change his mind right then and there just to make her happy, but he knew that no matter what he did he wasn’t going to make it much longer. He had decided if he was going to die, it was going to be making sure she got to safety and never had to come back here again. He couldn’t promise her anything but his heart, but he couldn’t bring himself to physically tell her no. So he ever so slightly shook his head instead, never taking his eyes off of her. This was the last time he would ever see her and he was going to soak her in as much as he possibly could before they both had to leave for different destinies.

 

Before either could say anything else, their lips collided in what they knew would be their last kiss. This moment, this perfect moment in a sea of chaos, would soon be just a memory for both of them and they were determined to make it last as long as they could. They memorized they way each other smelled, tasted, felt. They needed this moment to last a lifetime.

 

It nearly brought him to his knees when she choked out, “I love you.”

 

Somehow hearing those words come from her mouth made the barbaric pain in his side disappear. She still loved him. After everything, she still cared for him the same as he did for her. The words meant more to him than she could ever know. Which made this even harder for him than it already was. He needed to leave, soon, but he wasn’t going anywhere without making sure she knew how he still felt, how he had always felt.

 

“ _I_ love _you_ ,” he replied, feeling a small tear roll down his cheek. She was crying now and not trying to hide it anymore. He knew if he stayed any longer, he wouldn’t be able to leave. So he gave her one last lingering look that he hoped told her just how much he really cared about her, and how deeply sorry he was for _everything_ , and walked away for the last time.


	2. Enchanted

_Your eyes whispered, “Have we met?”_

_Across the room your silhouette starts to make its way to me_

_The playful conversation starts, counter all your quick remarks_

_Like passing notes in secrecy_

 

**_“Enchanted” - Taylor Swift_ **

 

**-**

 

Kate looked around at the thinning crowd under the large tent. The benefit concert Desmond dragged her to had ended about fifteen minutes ago and she was waiting. She wasn’t quite sure what for, but she waited nonetheless. She was feeling overwhelmed from remembering who she really was and where she must be now, and at the same time there was relief. Now she knew her friends were all okay. She had seen them all, most of them, and knew now that Desmond was trying to reunite their family.

 

There was one person, however, that she hadn’t seen yet. What made her heart ache was that it was the one person she wanted to see the most, who she had been waiting to see ever since the second they’d said their last goodbyes. Throughout the concert she’d been sitting next to his son; their son. Theirs, but he didn’t know it. Not yet. It had taken everything in her not to reach out and hold her boy as close as she could. David didn’t know her here because he wasn’t supposed to follow them where they were going later on, not for a long while. Kate hoped it would be quite some time before she saw her kids in this universe.

 

Kate looked up from the spot on the table she’d been staring at for the past five minutes and froze when she saw a familiar face across the lawn. The moment she had been praying for finally came. She had been missing him for sixty years.

 

It was Jack.

 

Slowly, as if she would startle him away if she moved too quickly, she stood and made her way over to him. He was dialing his phone and searching for someone, probably David. He looked just like she remembered; strong, responsible, handsome.

 

“It’s over,” she said.

 

He looked up at her, surprised. “Excuse me?”

 

Kate tried to hide the smile making its way onto her face at the sound of his voice. “The concert,” she told him, “It’s over. You looking for someone?”

 

“Yeah,” he answered, “My son. I was supposed to bring him here tonight and then I couldn’t come, and...”

 

She smiled warmly at him and felt her heart flutter when he laughed. She hadn’t heard that laugh in far too long. She just wished he would hurry up and remember her already. One look at him told her he was close. His eyes got a glint in them; he recognized her, she knew he did, but he couldn’t place it. He always was too damn stubborn for his own good.

 

“I’m sorry, where do I know you from?” he asked, shoving a hand into his pocket. 

 

Kate knew she couldn’t tell him the truth; this was something he needed to figure out on his own, even if it pained her that he was taking so long. So she went with what he thought would make sense. “I stole your pen.”

 

“What?”

 

She grinned at the look of confusion on his face. “Oceanic 815 from Sydney? I bumped into you coming out of the bathroom and I stole your pen.”

 

Jack shook his head slightly. “And that’s how I know you?” he asked.

 

Kate looked into his eyes and willed him to come to his senses. She wanted her Jack back so badly it hurt. “No,” she said quietly, “That’s not how you know me.”

 

Unable to bear the space between them any longer, she took the last few steps toward him and gently took his face in her hands. He tensed slightly and closed his eyes. He had seen something, a flash like she’d experienced with Claire.

 

“I’ve missed you _so much_ ,” she could barely contain the emotion in her voice.

 

He had another flash, she could tell, but he shook his head slightly and backed away. 

 

“Are you okay?” She never took her eyes off of him.

 

He looked so confused. “What his happening to me?” he asked, almost to himself, “Who _are_ you? I don’t...”

 

“I know you don’t understand, Jack,” she was close to tears now, “but it you come with me, you will.”

 

He stared at her for a long moment. He _knew_ her. He _remembered_ her from somewhere, not from her pick-pocketing a pen, he knew it. Something was drawing him to her, like some sort of invisible tether. He felt something deep inside him pulling at his heart, telling him to go with her. It was insane to go with her, he didn’t even know her, but something in his head was screaming at him to follow her wherever she went. Suddenly, this beautiful woman standing in front of him was all he could think about. Ignoring every thought about how crazy this was, he nodded at her and motioned for her to lead the way.

 

Kate smiled warmly and jerked her head toward the parking lot and turned, Jack close behind. The walk to the car and the subsequent ride was completely silent, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Kate was savoring every second with Jack by her side; she had been without him for so long that simply knowing he was there was enough. For now.

 

Jack couldn’t stop staring at her the entire ride to wherever it was they were going. He didn’t know why, but he was completely mesmerized by her and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t look away. He had been wracking his brain to figure out just why it was he recognized her. He felt like she probably knew him better than anyone else, and that she was more important to him than anyone had ever been in his life, but it scared him that he had no idea why.

 

He was pulled from his thoughts when he felt the car come to a stop and Kate turned off the ignition. Turning in her seat, she finally looked back at him and they locked eyes. 

 

“Do you know where we are?” she asked him.

 

Tearing his eyes away from her, he glanced out the window and felt his breath hitch at the building in front of him. “This is where I was going to have my father’s funeral,” he answered, “He died in Australia.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Kate told him. Something in her eyes said that she already knew what had happened with Christian Shephard. All of it.

 

“Why did you bring me here?” he questioned, more confused now than before.

 

“Because,” she said as if it made total sense, “This is where you were going to have your father’s funeral.”

 

He couldn’t do anything but stare at her, wondering where this was all going. What the hell was going on? When he didn’t say anything, she unbuckled her seatbelt and opened her door. “You can go in around back,” she said.

 

Why was she leaving? He didn’t want her to. “Wait! Where are you going?”

 

She motioned as if it was obvious. “Inside,” she smiled, “I’ll be waiting for you there, once you’re ready.”

 

“Ready for what?”

 

Kate really could not wait for him to come with her. He was so close to letting himself remember everything, she could feel it. All he needed to do was stop being so damn stubborn. 

 

“To leave.”

 

With that, she got out of the car, let the door shut behind her and walked into the large, beautiful church. She knew Jack just needed a little bit of time, and she was willing to wait. She’d spent sixty years dreaming about what it would be like when she got to see him, the real him, again; what was a few more minutes? Entering the sanctuary brought a huge smile to her face. Everyone was there. _Everyone_. Her family was finally all together again, and this time they didn’t have to worry about anything. Finally, they could just be together without anything trying to keep them apart.

 

What seemed like hours later, but really Kate supposed it was only about ten minutes, Jack came in through a small door near the front of the room followed by his dad. She watched as the other survivors greeted him enthusiastically, and he hugged them back just as happy to see them. He had finally remembered. After everyone he greeted, he scanned the room and Kate knew he was looking for her. Words couldn’t describe how happy she felt that he had missed her just as much as she had missed him all this time.

 

She walked closer to him and took his hand, clasping it tightly as if he would disappear if she let go. He turned to face her and gathered her in his arms, holding her as close to him as possible. Tears fell down both their faces as they reunited. “Kate,” he sobbed into her hair.

 

Kate clung to him and buried her face in his chest. “Jack, I love you _so much_ ,” she cried, “You don’t even know how much I’ve missed you. I love you.”

 

He stroked her long curly hair as they rocked slightly back and forth, “I love you, too, Kate. I’m so sorry. I’m here now, it’s okay.”

 

They broke apart, but only far enough so they could look at each other.

 

“How long?” Jack asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

 

Kate closed her eyes. “Sixty years,” she answered, “And there was never anyone else. No one could measure up to you, and I knew anyway...I couldn’t give my heart to another man because it already belonged to you. It always did.”

 

Jack felt a tear escape his eye but he didn’t care. All he cared about was standing in front of him, and she had waited far too long for this, for him. His heart felt like it could explode as they each leaned in and he captured her lips with his. One kiss to express every pent up emotion, every word they had never said to each other, everything they wished they could take back, and every moment spent wanting something that had been out of reach until this moment. Together they were whole again.

 

Now they could move on and know that no matter where they were going, they would never be apart again. 


	3. Haunted

_Come on, come on, don’t leave me like this_

_I thought I had you figured out_

_Something’s gone terribly wrong, you’re all I wanted_

_Come on, come on, don’t leave me like this_

_I thought I had you figured out_

_Can’t breathe whenever you’re gone_

_Can’t turn back now, I’m haunted_

 

**_“Haunted” - Taylor Swift_ **

 

**-**

 

The large, empty house was silent and covered in darkness. It had been ever since they got back and Claire had moved into an apartment with her mother and Aaron. Kate didn’t see the point in ever turning the lights on. It wasn’t like she had a reason to anyway. She was the only one there and no one ever came to visit. 

 

She had sunk into depression and she knew it. She and Jack had broken up before they ever left for the island, but she had always known he was out there, and if she had really wanted to see or talk to him, she knew where to go. But now, after they had finally made up, he was gone. He was gone and he was never coming back.

 

The ache in her chest grew stronger with each passing day as she mourned the loss of the only man she knew she could ever really love. He was everything she had ever wanted, but they were both too stubborn to be the first to try and patch things up after they went so wrong. It took too much time and once again being trapped on the island where they met for her to finally work out what exactly made Jack do the things he did. She finally had him figured out and then she lost him.

 

She was convinced that she was beginning to go crazy now that she was completely by herself. Once, she thrived on isolation, but now it was suffocating. The signs she was losing her mind should have scared her, but she found that she wasn’t afraid. She welcomed the moments when she could feel herself slipping, because they let her see Jack.

 

He would come at night mostly, when she was laying in their bed about to fall asleep. He would sit either in the chair in the corner or on the edge of the bed and they would talk. Sometimes he would hold her hand and stroke her hair to help her sleep. It never really mattered to her what they talked about, she just loved hearing his voice. What mattered what that they never fought.

 

It was to the point that Kate wouldn’t let herself sleep until he’d visited because she needed to know that he was there watching over her. In her head she knew he wasn’t really there and that it was ridiculous to believe he was, but her heart couldn’t help it. Sometimes she thought about trying to make herself stop imagining him with her, but she almost always threw that notion out immediately. If spending time with the man she loved meant insanity, she would take it. She couldn’t go back even if she’d wanted to; he would haunt her forever and she found that she didn’t mind at all.


	4. Last Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear, they're not ALL Taylor Swift songs...promise...

_So I’ll go sit on the floor wearing your clothes_

_All that I know is I don’t know how to be something you miss_

_Never thought we’d have a last kiss_

_Never imagined we’d end like this_

_Your name forever the name on my lips_

 

_Just like our last..._

 

**_“Last Kiss” - Taylor Swift_ **

 

-

 

It had been three months since the six of them had finally left the island for good. Frank had disappeared without telling any of them where he was going, and Richard had decided to travel around the world for the rest of his life to see how it had changed. He dropped in from time to time, bringing trinkets from the most obscure countries imaginable. Miles and Sawyer had started some sort of paranormal investigation business; she wasn’t really sure what was going on there, but they seemed to be doing well so she didn’t really ask. 

 

Then there was Claire. It had taken her a few weeks to re-adjust to the real world, but now she was completely fine on her own with Aaron. Kate had finally been able to reunite mother and son, even though it killed her to have to let go of the little boy she had grown to love so much. They had eventually phased Aaron into knowing Claire as “Mommy” instead of Kate, and the final step had been the two of them moving out into an apartment not far from Kate’s now extremely empty house. 

 

Once she was really on her own, the moment came when it really hit her that Jack was gone. _Gone_. Not just across town in his dump of an apartment that he’d been living in for the few weeks before they went back to that damn island. He wasn’t at the hospital filling out paperwork or operating on someone. He was gone. Suddenly and irreplaceably gone. At least when they were broken up, she knew he was still there. She still had a shred of hope that somehow they could change things. He fixed her, and she fixed him, so together they could fix them.

 

But now...now she was completely alone. Jack couldn’t do anything anymore because he was dead. Dead because he gave up everything for a chance to get Kate back to safety for good. She hoped he hadn’t been in any pain. She hoped he had finally found a semblance of peace. Lastly, she hoped that wherever he was, he knew she loved and missed him more than she could ever express. She always wondered if he felt the same, but she didn’t know how.

 

She had slipped into a deep depression and she knew it. She never went out, never answered her phone. It was a miracle if she opened her door for any of her friends. Every night she would usually end up in the middle of her bedroom floor in one of Jack’s old Columbia Med hoodies, looking through photos from when they were together and totally happy. Before he let his doubt take over his entire life, before they both said things they would soon regret, before she lost him.

 

Kate just didn’t know how to be without Jack. No one could ever compare to him or take his place. She would never find anyone else, she knew that. She’d already found her “one” and she’d had her time with him, however little it was. He was the only man she would love for the rest of her life. When he died, he took her heart with him.

 

Jack was her last.


	5. Samson

_You are my sweetest downfall_

_I loved you first, I loved you first_

 

**_“Samson” - Regina Spektor_ **

 

**-**

 

Kate was in no hurry as she pulled haphazardly into the small parking space in front of the darkened building standing before her. She stared out the windshield for a long moment before cutting the engine and turning off the headlights. She felt like a robot; a heartless bitch. It had been an hour since she dropped Aaron off with his true grandmother. An hour since she tried to explain to him, her “son,” that she had to go away for a little while and that this “nice lady” was going to take care of him. It didn’t help at all that she had to force herself out the door, Aaron’s cries and screams piercing her to the very core.

 

She had spent that hour driving aimlessly around Los Angeles; it was a miracle she hadn’t gotten in an accident because of how distracted she was. Her internal autopilot somehow steered her to a place she hadn’t been in weeks. A place she never thought she would ever come again. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to be here or not. Nonetheless, she got out of the car, locked it, and made her way up the familiar stairs. She didn’t need to look at the numbers in the hallway, she knew the right door by heart. 23D.

 

She didn’t knock or press the buzzer. She didn’t even know if anyone was home but she didn’t care. She found the right key on her keyring, the one she had been entrusted with a long time ago and hadn’t gotten around to giving back yet, and let herself in. Not bothering to lock the door behind her, she trudged through the freshly cleaned apartment to the bedroom. Once inside, she threw herself face-first onto the bed and stared out the window at the half moon glowing outside. Why was she here? Of all places, why was she at the home of the man who had broken her heart and dredged up all of the guilt and depression about leaving the island that she had finally managed to bury? The man who had gone from strong, loving and caring, to paranoid, drunk and spiteful, back to put-together and stubborn in the span of a few years.

 

She mused on her weaknesses. She had always had the tendency to go back to the sources of her pain for comfort. Her mother, Tom, even Sawyer, and now Jack. Maybe it was in her genes. Maybe she got it from her mom, who always went back to Wayne even after he would beat the living crap out of her and treat her like garbage. _The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree_. Wasn’t that the saying? So here she was in Jack’s bed, waiting. For what, she wasn’t quite sure. 

 

She didn’t know how long she had been there, maybe an hour or two, when she heard the front door open and heavy footsteps echo through the quiet apartment. Keys clanking against a counter, papers shuffling, a jacket being taken off. She wondered what he had been doing out so late the night before the flight he was so insistent they all get on. She didn’t have long to dwell on the possibilities as he pushed open his bedroom door. She heard a sharp intake of breath as he stopped abruptly in the doorway. He was surprised to see her there, laying across his bed, expressionless.“Kate...”

 

He bent over next to the bed to get a closer look at her. There were tear tracks running down her face. “What are you doing here?” he asked, confused.

 

She didn’t move her gaze from the moon. “Are you still going back to the island?” she asked, her voice scratchy from not being used for so long.

 

He hesitated before answering, “Yeah...yeah, I think I am.”

 

That was when she tilted her head down to look him in the eye. “Then I’m going with you.”

 

If she hadn’t still been angry and hurt by how he had been acting the past few months, she would have seen that the Jack she had loved, and still did, was the one in the room with her now. He was concerned at her behavior. “Kate, what happened? Where’s Aaron?”

 

“Don’t ask questions, don’t...” There was no way in hell she was going to talk about that to anyone. Ever. It hurt too much. She wondered again why she came. Did she really want to subject herself to any of Jack’s persistent interrogation about any of this right now? For a moment she considered doing what she did best: bolting for the door. But then she caught a glimpse of her ex-fiancee’s now clean-shaven face and decided to continue doing whatever this was. She spoke again in a tone that left no room for discussion, “If you want me to go with you, you will never ask me that question again. You will _never_ ask me about Aaron. Do you understand, Jack?”

 

“Yes.” Seeing her like this scared him. Something had to have happened, something big, for her to have let the little boy she loved as her own out of her sight. This was not the Kate he knew.

 

She let out a shaky breath and could feel fresh tears forming in her eyes. “Thank you.”

 

And then she couldn’t stop herself anymore; she pulled him to her and kissed him fiercely. She could tell he didn’t know how to react. If she was honest, she didn’t either, but she had missed this so badly. It was almost as if she had no control over what she was doing, but she found in the moment she didn’t care. She had spent so long trying to convince herself that she hated him and never wanted to see him again that the second she felt his lips on hers, it shone through just how much she needed him. 

 

He was home to her. She knew at times he could be a lousy idea of home but it was the only picture she had in her head. Whenever she thought about her future and what she really wanted, Jack was there, permeating every corner of those thoughts. He was her home, and she was his. They would always fall back into each other, whether they wanted to or not. That was how they worked. 


	6. I'll See You Again

_Always you will be a part of me_

_And I will forever feel your strength when I need it most_

_You’re gone now, gone but not forgotten_

_I can’t say this to your face, but I know you hear_

 

_When I’m lost, I’m missing you like crazy_

_And I tell myself I’m so blessed_

_To have had you in my life, my life_

 

_I’ll see you again, you never really left_

_I feel you walk beside me_

_I know I’ll see you again_

 

**_“I’ll See You Again” - Westlife_ **

 

**-**

 

Kate hadn’t ever expected to live a long life. When she was younger, she’d thought maybe she would get caught up trying to protect her mother from Wayne. Once she was on the run, she thought maybe a police officer’s bullet would find her. On the island, she never knew what was coming next but was almost certain it would kill her; it almost did on several occasions. But somehow she’d managed to survive all of it and here she was, almost ninety years old, wondering how she got here. She couldn’t help but wonder why; why her instead of all of her friends, instead of _him_?

 

In her mind, she didn’t deserve to be the last one standing. She’d done so much wrong in her life, and wronged so many; not only her parents and practically everyone else she’d ever known, but herself as well. In a matter of a few years, from her childhood to early adulthood, she’d gone from breaking rules to breaking laws to breaking hearts. The rules of karma said she should have gotten what was coming to her a long time ago; but then again, perhaps she had. She’d had to go through losing her friends one by one, each of them far more deserving of life than her, she was certain, and had to grow old feeling increasingly alone. Worst of all, she’d had to go through losing Jack and having to face life without him.

 

The truth was, she hadn’t thought she had the strength, or desire, if she was honest, to keep going once she’d gotten Claire home to Aaron and resettled into a normal life. She wanted to give up after that. She almost _had_ given up. That was, until she found out she wasn’t quite as alone as she’d thought. She had been under the impression that she had nothing tangible left of Jack, but a few weeks after returning to Los Angeles, the calendar and a little plastic stick told her she did.

 

A mixture of exhilaration, grief, happiness, and sheer terror overtook her for awhile but then she realized that it was really the best thing that could have happened to her. The baby gave her a reason to fight through her demons and not give into the desire to see what joining Jack wherever he was would be like; that’s what he would have wanted, she knew, because he’d given so much to get her home. It was Jack’s strength that had always carried her through the things she thought would destroy her, and that never changed even after he died. 

 

David was a carbon copy of his father. Not only was he a spitting image of Jack, but he’d also inherited his intellect, dedication, and his stubbornness. Sometimes Kate could have done without that last bit, but in the end she wouldn’t change a thing. David was a blessing, one she felt she didn’t deserve, but was grateful for because it gave her a piece of Jack again. He had always been with her in her heart, but now she could hold the evidence of him in her arms. Motherhood was one of the hardest things she’d ever done; sure, she’d cared for Aaron as her own for a few years, but this was different. David was _actually_ hers, hers and Jack’s, and she felt him there beside her every step of the way. Her son grew up knowing all about his father and what kind of man he was from day one, so that neither he nor Kate would ever forget about him.

 

As she got older, and more and more of her few remaining friends joined the others that had gone before them, her boys never forgot her. David and Aaron took care of her and helped her whenever she needed. That included moving her into David’s home, with his wife Laura and their children, when she could no longer live on her own. Her room was filled with almost ninety years’ worth of pictures of the important people in her life; her mother, Sam, friends from the island, but mostly David and his family, and Jack. She’d missed him every single day of her life, but she always held the belief that she _would_ see him again. 

 

So one night as she got ready for bed after not feeling quite right all day, she felt Jack beside her once more. She smiled as she lay down and turned her head to look at his photo on her nightstand before sighing quietly and closing her eyes. She felt no fear, only inexplicable joy, as flashes of a benefit concert danced before her eyes and she was finally reunited with Jack, and it was no longer a dream. 

 

“I’ve missed you so much.”


	7. Dreaming With a Broken Heart

_When you’re dreaming with a broken heart_

_The waking up is the hardest part_

_You roll out of bed and down on your knees_

_And for a moment you can hardly breathe_

_Wondering was he really here?_

_Is he standing in my room?_

_No he’s not, cause he’s gone, gone, gone, gone, gone_

 

**_“Dreaming With A Broken Heart” - John Mayer_ **

 

**-**

 

They both fought the sunlight as it slowly crept through the drawn shades in their room. It couldn’t be time to wake up yet; they were so comfortable and content to just lay there forever, but as the birds began chirping louder and louder, Kate finally gave in and opened her eyes. Looking at the clock, she saw it was just past seven.

 

“Time to get up, babe,” she said, patting Jack’s chest while she pushed herself off the bed.

 

Jack made a few unintelligible grunting noises and buried his face farther in his pillow. The image of her fiancé, the distinguished surgeon, acting like a child who didn’t want to wake up for school was enough to make Kate giggle uncontrollably. The man was too stubborn for his own good sometimes. 

 

“Stop laughing at me,” the man in question groaned into the pillow, “It isn’t nice. Besides, I don’t have to wake up.”

 

Kate raised an eyebrow and decided to play along for the time being. “Oh, you don’t have to get up, huh?”

 

“Not anymore.” He still hadn’t removed his face from the soft pillow.

 

“Yeah? And why is that, Doctor Shephard?”

 

Seconds ticked by with no answer and Kate was starting to get tired of whatever this game was and shook her head. “Jack?”

 

He finally turned his head and looked her right in the eyes. “Because, Kate,” he said calmly, “I’m dead.”

 

Kate awoke with a strangled gasp and sat bolt upright in bed, drenched in sweat. The bedroom was still dark and the glowing red numbers on her alarm clock read 4:23 in the morning. A slight turn of her head to the right showed her that the other half of the bed sat, as it had for almost a year now, empty and untouched. 

 

She hated moments like this, when her dreams felt just as real as he had when he was still there, warm and breathing and smiling. Moments like this made it even more difficult to accept everything that had been lost, because for just a second she thought she’d been given another chance to make things right. For a brief moment things were how they should have been.

 

But then she woke up. She always woke up, and her world came crashing down around her all over again like some disgusting cosmic joke. 

 

No matter how many times she dreamed him there, Jack was always gone in the morning. 


End file.
